Conventional urinary drainage bags are commonly strapped to a patient's leg above the knee, as disclosed in Barto U.S. Pat. No. 3,897,785, so that urine will flow into the bag under the influence of gravity. For an ambulatory patient, such an arrangement is often inconvenient and uncomfortable because, as such a bag becomes filled with urine, there is a tendency for it to slide downwardly along the leg unless additional means are provided on the bag to restrain such sliding movement. Also, such leg bags may be conspicuous through clothing as the bags become filled and may be awkward to drain.
Cawood U.S. Pat. No. 4,449,971 discloses that gravity flow is not essential for purposes of filling a urine collection bag. Intrinsic bladder detrusor muscle tone and intraperitoneal pressures exerted upon the bladder of a catheterized ambulatory patient will cause urine to flow from the bladder to a level as high as 10 centimeters or more above the distal tip of the catheter. A highly effective urinary drainage system may therefore be provided for an ambulatory patient in which the collection bag is carried by a waistband or belt and is worn over the patient's abdomen instead of along the inside of the leg.
The bag disclosed in the Cawood patent has a short valve-equipped drain tube that extends downwardly from the bag when the contents are to be drained and that may be folded upwardly and inserted into a pocket provided by the bag when the drain tube is not in use. A central heat seal joins the front and rear wall of the bag to cause more uniform distribution of fluid within the bag and reduce audible splashing of the contents when sudden body movements occur.
A main aspect of this invention is to provide an improved bag to be worn over the abdomen in which the retaining means for holding the drainage tube in raised condition against the front wall of the bag takes the form of a flexible transverse strap. Spot welds not only join the end portions of the strap to the bag's front wall but also provide laterally-spaced zones of interconnection between the bag's front and back walls, thereby effectively reducing sloshing of the contents during body movement, limiting the bulging of the bag when filled, and securing the strap in its position to function as means for holding the drain tube in its raised position. Because the strap is effectively welded at its end portions to both of the walls of the bag, the zones of connection are effectively reinforced against tearing and the possibilities are reduced that the front wall might be deformed or distorted by any pulling force transmitted by the strap.
The heat seals or zones of interconnection are circular in outline with each interconnection being located substantially midway between the bag's vertical midline and one of its side edges. The drain tube is located along the bag's midline and, when in raised condition, its valve-equipped end portion is tucked between the bag's front wall and the central portion of the flexible retaining strap.
An inlet tube is joined to the front wall of the bag above the drain tube and is adapted to be connected to a urethral catheter. A one-way inlet valve communicates with the inlet tube for preventing the flow of urine in a reverse direction. When the bag is worn, the distal tip of the catheter will normally be located above 5 to 10 centimeters below the inlet of the bag; however, intrinsic detrusor muscle tone of the bladder and intraperitoneal pressures associated with common body action such as walking, bending, and breathing result in fluid flow from the bladder into the bag with the anti-refluxing valve preventing reverse flow through the catheter.
Other features, advantages, and objects of the invention will become apparent from the drawings and specification.